Braves Line Up To Try And Sweep New York Tonight on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball

The Atlanta Braves are sending sinkerballer Bryce Elder to the mound on a national broadcast

Atlanta Braves pitcher Bryce Elder starts tonight on the road in New York against the Mets / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Know the only thing better than getting four sweeps by mid-May if you’re the Atlanta Braves?

Getting five sweeps. 

Atlanta has a chance to do just that tonight, as they’re carrying their four-game winning streak into tonight’s series finale against the New York Mets. They’ve used both the big bats and dominant pitching to take the first two games of the series; with sinkerballer Bryce Elder (1-1, 5.28 ERA) on the mound today, the defense could be the real star of the show tonight. 

Elder’s being opposed by Luis Severino (2-2, 2.93 ERA), who is looking for revenge after last season’s start against the Braves went sideways in a loss: five runs (three earned) in just four innings of a 5-0 loss for Severino’s previous team, the New York Yankees.

Lineups for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets on Sunday, May 12th 

Here's how Atlanta will line up for the contest:

RF Ronald Acuña Jr
2B Ozzie Albies
3B Austin Riley
1B Matt Olson
DH Marcell Ozuna
CF Michael Harris II
SS Orlando Arcia
LF Jarred Kelenic
C Chadwick Tromp

Elder’s looking for some better results this time last - his previous outing was only 3.1 innings against the Los Angeles Dodgers with seven runs charged to him in an eventual 11-2 LA victory. The Mets are a good opponent for Elder to “get right” - he’s got two career starts against them, both coming last season, and is 2-0 with a 3.97 ERA in the two outings. Watch for Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso: both of them took Elder deep last season, with Alonso’s coming in the infamous “throw it again” game that angered the baseball gods and ultimately broke the New York Mets.  

Here's the Mets lineup:

LF DJ Stewart
RF Starling Marte
SS Francisco Lindor
1B Pete Alonso
DH J.D. Martinez
3B Brett Baty
CF Harrison Bader
2B Jeff McNeil
C Omar Narváez

Severino’s had an interesting season, alternating between stellar performances (eight innings with one run on one hit against the Chicago Cubs) and...less-than-stellar outings (six runs on eleven hits in only four innings against the Milwaukee Brewers). But minus the occasional stumble, he’s been pretty reliable for New York, with three or less earned runs in all but one outing this season. 

He’ll have his work cut out for him in this one, though: While he’s handled slugger Matt Olson just fine (1-6 all-time), Marcell Ozuna’s a perfect 2-2 with a homer and three RBIs while Ronald Acuña Jr is 2-3 with a homer and two RBIs.  

How to Watch the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets on Sunday, May 12th 

The series finale is airing nationwide at 7:10 PM ET as part of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, with no team-specific broadcasts available. 

If you’d rather just listen, the Mets radio broadcast is available on WCBS 880 & WINZ 92.3 FM HD2 while the Atlanta Braves Radio Network has the standard broadcast on 680 AM/93.7 FM The Fan and affiliates across Braves Country.